Sigler looking to be himself

The one thing Chris Sigler isn't doing heading into his first appearance at the state golf tournament is changing his game.

The Triway senior has used a rather simple approach to become just the third player in school history to earn a berth in the state tournament.

So when the 75 Annual Boys State Golf Tournament kicks off Friday morning on Ohio State University's Scarlet Course in Columbus, don't expect Sigler to do anything special.

"If I can play my game and it's good enough to win, OK," said Sigler, who joins John Barnes (1983, 1984) and Rich Dobec (1986, 1987) as the Titans' only state qualifiers. "If I play my game and I don't win, I'll tip my cap to whoever because I'll know it wasn't good enough.

"I'd love to win it, but I'm going to stick to the same plan I've used in the tournament."

Sigler, a first-time state qualifier, will be among the 82 players competing for the Div. II individual title. The two-day, 36-hole tournament will be played Friday and Saturday on the par-72, 7,145-yard monster.

Notre-Dame Cathedral Latin, Sandusky Perkins and Granville are the only teams returning to the tournament. Granville finished sixth, while Perkins and Latin finished eighth and ninth, respectively, in 1999. Defending champion Kettering Alter failed to qualify.

"A lot of people have asked me this week if I was nervous," Sigler said. "The way I see it, I'm the underdog. There are some individuals and teams back and probably over half of them have never heard of me.

"I'm just going to try to shoot par. I want to keep the ball in play, hit greens and make par. If a birdie putt drops, then it drops. It's the same plan I used at sectional and district. It's working, so I'll keep using it."

That's the ideal plan for the Scarlet Course, which isn't designed for scoring. With seven par-4s measuring over 410 yards and a pair of par-3s over 200, Scarlet requires long, accurate tee shots, good iron play and an adept touch around the green.

Sigler demonstrated all three in finishing second overall at the sectional tournament at The Elms in Massillon and the district tournament at Windmill Lakes in Ravenna.

Sigler isn't a scorer, but a grinder. He shot 74 at the sectional and 75 at district to advance to state. While he isn't likely to post a score in the 60s, he also doesn't make the mistakes that lead to big scores.

In his seven 18-hole tournaments, Sigler has finished in the top three five times and hasn't shot above 80. His 76.5 average is comparable to the top players in the state and his mettle is unrivaled.

He finished third behind Skufca (71) and Schonhoft (74) at the district tournament.

"I'm not sure that playing against the best players in the state will faze him," Triway coach Brian Kiper said. "Chris played in a national tournament this summer against some of the best players in the country. he's been there before and I think the course sets up well for his game."

The biggest key will be Sigler's ability to handle the pressure on the first day. Although tournaments aren't won in the first round, they could be lost.

"The first day, all I want to do is put myself in position to have a shot on Saturday," he said. "That's the key to a two-day event. You have to play decent on the first day and continue it on the second. If you start terrible, then it forces you to play great on the second day.